Events

Brian Kell will talk about the history of the Whittlesea Straw Bear from the past to the present, along with the changes which have occurred throughout the years of the revival.  Brian Kell was the founder and is honorary president of the revived Whittlesea Straw Bear festival, and was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2013 for services to music and the community in Whittlesey. Click on the name of the event for more info and to register for a place.

An illustrated talk on some more unusual English customs with songs and pictures presented by Gill and Barry Goodman. “Traditional Treasures” will lead you through the magic, mystery and madness of English traditional customs in story, live songs and visual images. The customs they will cover include: House Wassailing, The Olney Pancake Race, Tavistock Goosey Fair, Helston Flora Day, The Whitby Penny Hedge, The Haxey Hood Game, Apple Tree Wassailing. Presentation for approx 1 hour, then 30 mins for Q&A. Click on the link below to book a place and you will be sent a Zoom link to access the event.

Owain Boorman will teach the Cotswold morris jig - 'Ladies' Pleasure' - in the style of Fieldtown.  This follows on from the Nutting Girl jig in the style of Fieldtown from the Jig Instructional. The Jig and workshop will bridge the gap between beginner and intermediate and will be suitable for most dancers who know how to double step, and those who attended our beginners Cotswold workshop last year. The workshop will be led by Owain Boorman accompanied by his long suffering partner, musician Rimini Dick-Carr.  Click on the name of the event for more info and to register for a place.

The talk draws on Peter Harrop’s editorial and introductory contributions to The Routledge Companion to English Folk Performance published last year (2021). He will use examples of morris dancing, mumming and sword dancing to consider four broad points. Presentation for approx 1 hour, then 30 mins for Q&A. Click on the link below to book a place and you will be sent a Zoom link to access the event.

Have you ever wondered what might be the best way to bring on a beginner when they join your team?  Would you find it useful to have a model of how teachers teach and learners learn?  Have you been missing an opportunity to learn from other foremen about what they do? In this session, Emma Wooders will share some teaching tips which might be useful for foremen (old, new and aspiring) garnered from her other life as a teacher as well as her foreman's experience.  There will be practical suggestions as well as some of the big ideas behind them to help develop your practice at practice. Click on the link below to book a place and you will be sent a Zoom link to access the event.

Knights of King Ina are restarting their workshop series with a chance to run through a number of Cotswold Jigs in preparation to a dance season where dancers and teams can again go out and meet.  It is offered as an in-person workshop in Somerset, and also online over Zoom at the same time.  So it's also a chance to experience a 'hybrid' event.  Click on the name of the event for more info and to register for a place.

Spain has a vibrant traditional dance culture, with many distinctive regional styles.  Catalunya is notable for its 'Balls Populars' – Popular Dances.   There are aspects of these dances which we as morris dancers can identify with, for instance costume (whites, baldricks, bell pads), columnar form, pipe and tabor music, sticks and handkerchiefs.  In this talk Stephen Rowley takes us to the Fiesta to find out more. Visca Balls Populars! Visca Catalunya! Click on the name of the event for more info and to register for a place.

“How do we get to the top of Google?” is a question you might be asking, especially if you’re looking to recruit new members or you want to make it easier for event organisers to find information about your side. We probvide two different approaches which you can use (for free!) to help get information (including photos and videos) of your side to the first page of Google results – and we’ll provide evidence of the effectiveness of these approaches which, as you can see from the results of a search for “Mixed morris side near me” is working for at least side sides in the south west. We’ll also explain how you may be able get information about your side to the first page of Google results even if you don’t have a website – this session isn’t just for IT geeks Click on the name of the event for more info and to register for a place.